Gift of the Heart
by Erik-in-CT
Summary: Just a cute little ficlet of Bella and Tony during the holidays


**Title: Gift of the Heart**

**Author: Erik-in-CT**

**Disclaimer: All recognizable characters belong to Stephanie Meyer or Marvel Comics, and not myself.**

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><p>Bella stood looking at the amazing view out of the floor to ceiling windows that made up the wall of the bedroom she shared with Tony, who had hidden himself down in his workshop all week, forbidding her to come down. She wondered with quite a bit of curiosity what he was working on down there for hours on end, but her questions had been evaded by both Tony and Jarvis. She had hoped they would spend at least this day together, as it was quite a special day, but apparently Tony took no notice of the calendar when he was wrapped up in one of his projects.<p>

With a sigh, she turned from the windows and made her way downstairs, heading for the kitchen and making herself a mug of hot chocolate, before sitting down in front of the television and flipping on a movie.

She must have fallen into a doze in front of the tv, as she was gently shaken awake by Tony sitting down next to her. She blinked blearily up at him, her lips pulling into a soft smile as he reached out to pull her across his lap. She settled against him, her head falling to rest against his shoulder as his arms wrapped around her.

"Done working?" Bella asked, hoping he was, as she was starting to get a little lonely.

"For now," he responded, his hand tilting her head up to place a kiss against her lips. "Sorry I've been busy. I hope you haven't missed me too much."

"Just a little bit," she said. "What are you working on for so long down there?"

"You'll see," he replied, the vagueness of his reply irking her slightly. He evidently picked up on her frustration, chuckling quietly as he tightened his arms around her. "It's almost finished, don't worry. The boys are just cleaning up down there now."

"Alright she said, snuggling closer against him with a soft sigh. No matter what else was going on, she always felt safe and loved when she was in Tony's arms. How she was lucky enough to find and win his love, she didn't know, but was eternally grateful for it. It was the greatest gift she could have asked for. She felt his fingers brushing gently through her hair, petting lightly as they sat together in silence. These quiet moments were few and far between, and she treasured them. Feeling a little mischievous, she let her hands play along his t-shirt covered chest, circling around the reactor that protected his heart and up along the collar to brush against his warm skin. She felt the slight shiver that ran through him at her touch and smiled, leaning her head to place a kiss against his neck.

"Feeling frisky?" Tony said in a hushed voice as he shifted one hand to rub lightly along her thigh.

"Mmhmmm," she responded as she brushed her lips against his jaw. He turned his head, catching her lips in a passionate kiss, and she melted against him.

After a moment of heavenly bliss, Tony pulled away and she pouted at the withdrawl. He laughed softly, drawing a finger across her lips. "As much as I'd like to continue this, I have something else to do." Without waiting for her response, Tony slid his arms around her, standing in a fluid motion with her in his arms. She squealed quietly at sudden shift, her arms sliding around his shoulders to hold onto him. With that sexy smirk he always seemed to have, Tony began walking towards the stairs leading down to the workshop. "I think they might be just about done down there by now. Why don't we go see?"

"Alright," she said, her curiosity getting the better of her. "I can walk, you know."

"I know," he said, but didn't put her down until they reached the bottom of the stairs, and he needed his hands to open the glass door that lead into the workshop.

Bella glanced around, trying to see the evidence of Tony's work, but didn't really see anything that would give her a hint as to what he had been so busy with. Then she jumped slightly as something was slid over her eyes. "Tony? What..."

"Hush," Tony said as he tied the blindfold behind her head. "It's a surprise, I don't want you peeking." Then he took her hands and slowly led her through the workshop. She couldn't keep herself from smiling at his antics and let him guide her around the tables and worktops in the room until they finally came to a stop on the far end of the room, the area that served as a garage for Tony's collection of cars. "I'm sorry I've been so busy the last few days," he said, his lips against her ear as he stood behind her. "But I hope you'll forgive me." With that, he pulled the cloth from her eyes.

She instinctively shut her eyes, the lights from the room bright after the darkness of the blindfold. But after a moment it cleared, and she looked around in amazement at the transformation she was seeing to the room around her. She glanced around, then back at Tony with a questioning look.

"Go ahead, look around. It's yours."

"Mine?" Bella said, looking around once again. It seemed as Tony had completely remodeled this end of the workshop, closing it off and turning into smaller version of his own work area. She moved slowly around the room, eyeing the computers and workspaces that had been set up, even the small holotable for experimenting with designs.

"Jarvis is integrated into the systems, of course," Tony said as she looked around. "As is Twain. And you have access to the Stark Industries mainframes through Jarvis."

"You gave up part of your garage to build me my own office?" She smiled brightly at Tony as she moved back towards him, sliding her arms around his waist

"That's not even the best part of it," he said, the smirk back on his face.

"What is the best part?"

His eyes glanced upwards, and she followed his gaze. Hanging directly above him in the doorway was a single sprig of misletoe, tied with a glittering red ribbon. He turned his gaze back to hers, his blue eyes smoldering with an inner fire. "So do I get a kiss or what?"

"Can't argue with tradition," she responded as she raised herself up to meet his lips with hers, the flames of passion rising within her.

"Merry Christmas love," he said with a genuine smile as he took her hand and led her back upstairs to the bedroom.

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><p><strong>Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays everyone!<strong>

**I love you all!**

**~Erik**


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